The Daughter Of The Sun
by Bramblewish
Summary: The third story in the Burning heart trilogy follows the four heroes as the struggle to accept their fate. No more can be said without spoiling the plot of the first two stories.
1. Chapter 1

Warning- This is the third story in the Burning heart sequence. If you have not read "A Burning Heart" or "The throne Of Storms" then I do not suggest reading this. You can find those stories on my profile if you are interested. I apologize for any inconvenience.

(Alice's POV)

I tore into my little grass-made hut, and slammed the door behind me. I stormed over to a little cushion that my mother made, and threw myself down with little consideration. The impact hurt, but did little to distract from the anger boiling inside of me.

My mother came over to find the source of the noise. She was a small woman, with long brown hair flowing down to her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes, and a slightly rounded face. She would have been beautiful if she didn't have the bags under her eyes. Ever since my father died, she hasn't slept much at all. Her face fell immediately into a sympathetic expression, She walked over, and dropped a pillow behind me. Sitting down herself, she began to play with my hair and try to calm me down.

"It happened again mother." I said quietly.

"I assumed as much. Was it just the one boy this time?" She asked.

"No, it was a group of people from the village. They came and laughed at me, called me names."

"You didn't-" She began.

"No, I kept my control. I would've liked to wipe that smile off of Clay's face though."

She smacked me sharply across the back of the head. "You can't start thinking like that, because one day you may just find yourself having done it. it's a wonderful thought to foster, but a terrible deed."

"I know mother." I replied.

She returned to playing with my long red hair, and after awhile spoke softly. "What did they say?"

I waited a few moments before responding. "The called me things like witch, and demon. They asked me what hell felt like, and then… then they." I took a shaky breath. "They asked me what you thought of having brought up a bitch daughter."

"Oh no. They are just afraid of your powers darling. I love you, don't ever forget that. You always have been, and always will be my baby girl." She said strongly.

I wiped a tear from my cheek and forced a smile. "I love you too"

"If only your father could see the woman you've grown to be. He would be so proud."

I didn't respond. Father died when I was very young, and I knew very little about him. Mother had a small painting of him that she kept on the wall, but age had deteriorated it. All that could be seen from the painting is a tall male figure, and white hair. Nobody in our village had hair that resembled that color, nor had anyone that I had met. The traders all had brown and black hair.

"I probably ought to attend to my duties." I said, turning away from her. I moved towards the door and right before I left, she called out to me.

"Wait! Whatever happens, just remember to be strong, and that I love you."

"Do you plan on going somewhere?" I asked trying to keep a light tone to the conversation.

"Promise that you will be strong." She pleaded.

"What?" I asked starting to become afraid.

"Promise me." She ordered.

"Fine mother, I promise. What is this all about?" I asked.

"You'll learn in time, go and work in the garden. Remember don't let anyone see."

Feeling no reassurement, and slightly on edge, I walked out into the garden to give my daily "help." It had rained recently, and catching my eye in a puddle was immediately reminded of why everyone hated me. My eyes were bright yellow. Nobody in town knew of the powers that came with it, just the eye color alone was enough for them to mock me. Children could be cruel, even the ones approaching adulthood.

I cast a quick look around to assure that nobody could see me, and I began my work. I learned many years ago that I could make rays of light erupt from my hands whenever I wanted. It frightened me, but Mother seemed unsurprised. She told me never to do it in front of anyone else and that was that.

Years after that, I learned that if i directed the light at the crops, they grew much faster than they should. So ever since that moment, I spent a few hours each day casting my light at the plants, and picking them whenever they grew. It was the only way for my mother and I to survive without farm space or any tools.

After twenty minutes of work, I heard a sound that resembled a fire catching, and turned around to look. A woman stood tall in a ring of burned plants that had once been the path to our hut. She was no less than two meters tall, and had a dark black dress that fell to her ankles. It would have been a normal sight had every single bit of her not been on fire.

She seemed used to the flames, and none of them caught as the walked over to me with the affection of a queen. She looked down onto me as if surveying a child, and spoke with a voice loud and confident. A voice that you cannot help but obey..

"My dear Alice, I am correct in saying that your mother is home." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, she is just inside. How do you know my-" I began perplexed.

"No matter. I have come because a debt is to be repaid. Are you aware that your mother cannot have children?" She asked me with all of the kindness of a rusty knife.

"Yeah. She told me that she tried before my father died, but there was no luck. Not since me anyway."

"You should not be alive." She said stating a fact.

"Excuse me?" I asked slightly offended.

"Your mother was sterile long before you were born. You were born only by a bargain with the gods. Well one god in particular. You couldn't possibly understand how difficult it was to get her to conceive, but I did. Now I have come seeking repayment, stand aside." She ordered.

I stepped to allow her to pass, and I watched expecting her to start taking things. With a single wave of her hand the entire cottage burst into blue flame.I watched in horror as it fell in on itself, and extinguished as quickly as it had begun.

I turned back to the woman but she was gone. Leaving behind a circle burned into the ground. I ran towards the remains of the hut, and began to dig through it looking for my mother. I eventually found her buried beneath a pile of burnt straw. I shook her and tried to wake her up, but something was wrong. She was oddly cold. No part about her, not even her clothes were singed. She looked as if she had escaped the fire entirely, but there was no mistake. She was dead, and I was alone.

Author's note- That is the second mother I have killed off in the past three chapters. I promise it will be the last for a while. There is a pleasant surprise coming soon, that hopefully should make up for all of this death and destruction. Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction. As always Thank You.

Solaris- sun God

Solumque- Fire goddess

Petra- Stone and earth

Pruina-water

Ventus-Air

Pax Deorum- Sun worshippers


	2. Chapter 2

(Elsa's POV)

"Be cool, you can do this." I whispered to myself. Anna shot me a knowing glance, and I returned her look with a half smile. We were all sitting around a fire, courtesy of Anna, in the middle of the clearing. The Tenebrae Noctis left hours ago, seemingly satisfied that they had completed their job.

Pabbi looked at us, and very sadly forced a smile. He coughed quietly, as if he hated the silence. I turned toward the trees, and saw Kristoff walking forward with a shovel slung over his shoulder.

Once he reached us he said quietly "It's done, they're all buried." We all nodded, and he sat down beside Anna. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he looked at her appreciatively.

"I do have good news." He said. "I found no human bodies. everyone seems to have escaped, and they are probably returning to Arendelle right now.

"Ooh that's good" The Duke said cheerfully, blissfully aware of the gravity of the situation. it seems that being given a second chance was all that he needed to become his bouncy joyful self again. I seemed to be the only one bothered by the fact that the last time he was like this he killed thousands of people. I didn't care what anyone said, I would never forgive him for what he did to Arendelle in our absence. Although at the moment that appeared to be the furthest thought from his than say what I wanted, I responded with a polite "hmh".

Anna looked at me warningly and said "Sis."

I apologized quickly, but said nothing more on the subject. I quickly noticed that Anna's attention seemed to be wandering, as well as Kristoff's. They both kept looking at each other but saying nothing. It occurred to me that this was by all accounts their wedding deserved time to catch up and be together before we set off on an impossible journey. I asked Pabbi to show me the crystal, and we began to walk away. Looking back I saw the Duke happily unaware of the situation. I grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him until it occurred to him to walk beside me.

As we descended the seemingly infinite staircase, I prodded Pabbi further to see what other information he might be hiding.

"Is there anything else that you can tell us about the prophecy?" I asked pleadingly.

"No." He responded a little too quickly. "I mean not about the prophecy, no. I can however tell you where to start. Do you remember the Astral plane?"

"Yeah, that is where I learned everything I do about magic. I just sent out a question and an answer would fly back to me."

"Well, it also allows you to connect to Sacerdos like me. If you want somewhere to start, I suggest contacting a Sacerdos by the name of Gelida. You may know her as the woman who killed your parents. If you contact her, and pledge allegiance to her cause, she may come out into the open. When she does, you need to kill her. If you can defeat her, then you may stand a chance at Pruina herself."

I was slightly shocked at Pabbi's command to simply murder someone for practice, but if I had to pick anyone it would be her. Before that moment I had a general picture of my parent's murderer as some kind of sea creature. I now had a name, and soon we would have a face.

"Do not contact her yet, you have much to do here before you leave. Do not forget that you are still queen of Arendelle, and you must fulfill those duties first."

"Yes Pabbi" I said relieved that I would have more time to train before going up against a millennia old creature of water.

"Also I need time to train Hadrian here." The Duke immediately looked up in response to his own name "His brain has been shattered by guilt, so I need to help him out of it before he can help you."

"While you are doing that, I'll look around and see if I can find the fifth hero of legend. Hopefully they won't be homicidal maniacs with thousands of people's blood on their hands"

"That would be preferable." Pabbi said with a slight smile. The Duke only looked around blankly.

Author's note- I am not entirely satisfied with the content of this chapter, but after multiple revisions I am certain that it is, for the moment, the best I can do. (It probably also doesn't help that I haven't slept in three days.) I have however learned a quite a bit about myself and my writing style through these stories. Thank you for continuing to support these stories, and for not screaming profanity whenever I kill off a major character. (It has been done) As always, Thank You.


	3. Chapter 3

(Alice's POV)

Even in death my mother looked beautiful. The dark shadows of restlessness have faded from her complexion, leaving behind the beauty that she once held, and never would again. Looking over her, I could see no signs of her being gone. In fact it appeared as if I could shake her from this stupor, and she would arise, happy to live another day.

Yet she stirred no more. Despite my shaking, my screaming, and my pleading she refused to betray any signs of the soul that once resided inside of her. She has gone to find the maybe that we talked about, the hopeful maybe.*

A single tear fell softly from my cheek to hers, and it rolled as if she too, was sad that her leaving was so soon. All I could do, was kneel gently beside her pristine body. Lamenting under the beautiful sky that mocked my sorrow.

I thought back to the woman, the terrible woman that stole my everything. Her careless flick of her wrist that killed my happiness, and introduced me to loneliness. For the first time in my life, I was truly, absolutely and completely alone. A shattered soul beneath the starry sky.

Then as quickly as it had arrived, all emotion vanished. I experienced a brief moment of relief, before a roaring rage settled in. A deep hatred that burned through my veins, and heated my mind. It was soon that all I could think about was revenge, that horrible woman burning as she had done to my mother. Her final realization of the pain she had caused, before the hopeful maybe took her too.

The thought brought comfort, and I held on to it dearly. Anger hid pain, as a match would hide an inferno.

I forced myself up from the ground, and discovered the aching pain in my knees. I had been kneeling for too long, but I brushed the thought aside as I prepared a plan. A plan to achieve revenge, and find peace.

A single thought nagged annoyingly in my head all while fostered revenge: she is a god, what chance do I stand against her? A question or which I had no answer, but a drop of reason could do naught against the flames of vengeance.

I turned and ran as fast as my legs would allow toward the town. If the woman was anywhere near here, she would be there. I ran until my lungs screamed for air, and my said yelled i9n pain. I ignored them both, for physical pain was a gentle relief to the mental agony.

Eventually after hours or minutes, I reached the gates of our little small town: Abakan. It was a quaint town with buildings hardly larger than our, my grass hut used to be. The primary square for activity, even at night, has always been the market. Ramshackle stalls presenting this or that, quite often at prices so unfair that bartering is a necessity. I reached the market easily, relying on the memory of my feet rather than my mind, and was immediately hit in the head with a bucket of water.

I grunted in pain and fell to the ground, momentarily dazed. I forced my way to my feet, and searched desperately for my attacker. I saw one of the stall keepers, Alexei, standing a few feet away looking terrified.

"What the hell was that about?" I shouted angrily.

"Your hair... miss… it is… uhh… on fire." He stammered quietly, as if shocked that he would have to answer such an obvious question.

"Don't be ridiculous. I have red hair, you have known for years that I have red hair. Why are you so terrified now?" I yelled once more baffled by his stupidity.

"Your red hair, is on fire." He stated slightly more confident, but still very afraid.

I looked down into the puddle at my feet, and saw my reflection. A girl who looked very much like me stared back. The golden eyes and the slightly round face were present, but my hair was absolutely and certainly on fire. Immediately I became afraid, and I felt water douse me repeatedly. I shut my eyes and, took breaths between the waves crashing over me, desperately hoping I wouldn't burn to death. 'Like mother like daughter." I joked quietly to myself, resolved to my fate.

The water ceased, and I, very much alive, opened my eyes. Every single eye in the market was on me. Every single eye was equally afraid. I looked at each one separately, hoping someone would speak. I eventually broke the silence, "Is it gone."

A small elderly woman whom I have spoken to twice quietly said "Yes."

"How did you do that?" Alexei asked quietly.

"How did I manage to set myself on fire, and stand still whilst someone repeatedly threw water on me? It was quite easy considering the day I'm having." I joked desperately trying to get their attention off of my no longer flaming hair.

"No, how did you manage to do that, with the water?" He elaborated.

"I just stood here while someone threw water at me." I declared with a shrug of my shoulder.**

"Nobody threw water at you. The water just flew from the ground at hit you. After it fell back down, it would fly up again. You must be using magic!" He screamed with a mixture of anger and fear. "Clay was right about you! You are a witch!"

"No, no, I don't know how I'm doing it. I swear." I stammered.

"Prepare a pyre!" Alexei yelled to no one in particular, but a few people jumped up to follow his command.

"No!" I yelled, and then I could see no more.

I awoke several hours later in a heap of ruined one burned past recognition. I forced my way out and what I saw made me sick. The town was gone, burning wreckage was all that remained aside from the corpses that littered the ground. I gazed in horror at the act that I must have done.

The sun broke the horizon, and looked upon my wicked glory. It was impossible to believe that only yesterday, I hated being mocked and loved complaining to my mother. Today I had neither, and wished desperately for yesterday once more.

*I intentionally avoided mentioning the existence of an afterlife in the religion of this story. The existence of a hopeful maybe is necessary because it gives the characters something to look forward to if they die, but solidifies nothing. In any sort, a hopeful maybe is a pleasant thought.

** The half shoulder shrug is an international sign for "I have no confidence in what I'm talking about"

Author's note- A lot of things happened very quickly in this chapter, yet I have provided no answers. All fo this will be important in the chapters to come, especially the destruction of Abakan. Don't let your first thoughts about any of these characters guide you, if you persist with an open mind your opinions may change. As always Thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

(Alice's POV)

Chernogorsk was a massive bustling city several miles north of Abakan. Buildings rose up high into the sky, abandoning straw and clay for more sturdy materials. Lanterns and torches illuminated the streets, so that even at night it was easy to see. Thousands of people patrolled the streets, rushing to whatever business they needed to attend to, never once looking at the people they were sprinting past. It was perfect.

I entered the city by following the caravan of supplies from the surrounding fields. The guards did not look twice at the poor farm girl entering with all of the other poor farm people. I followed them down to the market where they began to unload their hauls.

I felt comfortable in the market. The stalls served the same purpose as they did in Abakan, even if their were built out of wood and stone. Vendors gave the same deals for the same materials, and shoppers yelled indignantly at the prices.

Abakan flashed in my mind, and with it all of the faces that I had killed. A wave of nausea hit me, but I forced my face to remain unchanged. I was unaware if news of Abakan had even reached here yet, and if it had, I didn't want to give myself away that easily.

Hastily wiping away a tear, I pushed past the people and found myself on the steps to an inn. I took a deep breath and forced the door open.

The first thing I noticed was the overwhelming smoke. I thought back to my mother, but forced her image away. The second thing I noticed was the dim lighting, it served only to illuminate the silhouettes of the patrons. I adjusted my cloak to cover my face, and walked in as noiselessly as possible.

Eventually I reached the counter where a very old barmaid was rubbing off a few dusty glasses. She smiled a toothless smile, and set the newly cleaned glass in front of me.

"You look like you could use a drink dear, the first one is on the house." She said with the gasping voice of someone struggling for breath.

"Thank you." I coughed, She pulled a bottle out from under the counter and tipped it into my glass. A red liquid that I had never seen before filled the glass to the brim. I took a large gulp, then immediately regretted it. The drink tasted like vinegar with a slightly sweet aftertaste, I forced it down but resolved to never drink it again.

The barmaid noticed my reaction, and added with a quick laugh. "Is this your first time drinking wine?"

"Yeah." I added choking back the vile substance. She laughed but didn't say anything further, but instead went back to cleaning her glass.

I took the opportunity to find out if she had heard of what I had done at Abakan. "Any news of the nearby towns?"

"Well there is one to the west, Arenbell or summat like that, well they're getting a new queen, Elisa maybe. Ah well it doesn't matter. Oh, I also heard summat this morning about some town down south, damn shame really. Looks like they were trying ta burn a witch, but the fire got outta control. Well that's what they get building their houses out of grass 'stead of wood."

I suppressed my sigh of relief. They suspect that it was an accident, and that nobody survived to tell the true story. I settled into my chair, and tried another sip of the wine. it still tasted horrible, but slightly better than last time. Just then my luck ran out.

I turned to my right to see a horribly burned face. Fresh scorch marks danced across his skin as constant reminders of what he went through. Tempting fate I looked at him long enough to assure that he was who I believed him to be, then Alexei turned to look at me. His grunt of pain turned into a yell of recognition.

I was hopeful that he would forgive me for what I had done, despite the horrible thing I had done. I was not so lucky.

"A witch! A witch!" He yelled out in anger and stammered back. He grabbed a bar stool, and tried to swing it at my head. I yelped in surprise and crossed my arms above my head to protect me. There was no collision. A golden wave stopped the stool before it hit me. It shimmered for a few seconds before it dissipated. Alexei's anger melted into fear, and he ran out of the bar.

I turned back to the barmaid and threw a coin to her. She didn't flinch when the cold metal hit her in the face, she didn't even try to move. She just looked at me with wide fearful eyes.

I sprinted to the door and found myself back in the bustle of the city. Noise of my acts had not reached the general public yet, so I managed to reach the gates without difficulty. As I walked I thought about how the people in the town had reacted to my powers, and the more I thought the angrier I became. They didn't even realize that I had been coming there for years, or that I had never hurt them. I came seeking help and they tried to kill me. It was their fault that they were dead, their fault.

I was absolutely seething by the time I reached the gates. A guard tried to stop me wit a quick "halt!" I looked at him just long enough to see an invisible force throw him against the stone wall. Then I ran.

I ran to go where nobody would fear me. I would go where I could live safely and finally mourn my mother and the people I killed. I would run to Arendelle.

Author's note- The past few days have been incredibly stressful. I have moved my sister into my house, and had a very important test that would determine the next few years of my life. I apologize if the past few chapters have been mediocre, but trust me when I say that I am doing the best I can under the circumstances. I appreciate the kindness shown in response to these chapters, and every review is taken into account when writing them. as always, thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

(Anna's POV)

Later that night, I caught Kristoff staring intently into the lingering ember from our fire. He surveyed it with eyes glazed over, as reality ceased to exist and his mind took control. I walked over to him and threw myself onto the ground.

"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked.

"Just thinking." He replied quietly.

"About what?" I asked with false enthusiasm, trying to keep the tone light.

"About this, the war, us. About how we never got asked if we wanted to do this. It was never our decision, we were chosen no matter if we wanted it or not." He said.

"Well we didn't choose this, but we have to deal with our lot in life, you know? We gotta do what we gotta do." I replied diplomatically.

"Who says that we gotta do this?" He asked angrily."Who says that we have to throw away our lives for a fight that we have never even heard of?"

"We were chosen."  
"Hell yeah we were chosen, without ever talking to us. It would have been nice if someone had asked me 'Hey do you want to be part of a terribly dangerous prophecy that may result in your painful death?' So that I could say 'no thank you.' and be done with it."

"All the people that are suffering, what do we do about them?" I pleaded.

"I haven't heard about anyone suffering, except for the people of Arendelle. We aren't fighting the monster that attacked them either, because the prophecy chose him too. If it were up to me, we would be throwing his body into the woods right about now, but it isn't."

"He tried to save us."

"After trying to kill you, and damn near killing Elsa."

"He tried to kill himself rather than hurt us again."

"Ha, just a sick old man trying to avoid suffering. It would almost be a kindness to put him out of his misery."

I slapped him across the back of the head. "Oi! No plotting murder of a fellow hero."

He snorted and whispered "Hero."

"And we have to do this, because the entirety of our world is a battleground. Every natural disaster is the work of two gods fighting, and millions have died in the earthquakes, fires, storms, and floods everywhere. You have the opportunity to save billions, can you honestly tell me that you would abandon them all for yourself."

I struck a nerve, Kristoff shifted nervously for a second before replying "Fine, I'll do it. Although I am not responsible for any temporary injury that the duke gets along the way."

"No killing him, promise me that you won't kill or seriously injure."

"I promise."

We sat in silence for a few more moments before Elsa emerged from Pabbi's hole. She walked over calmly and sat down across from us.

"We leave tomorrow. I want to see if we can track down the fifth member of the prophecy. Hadrian will remain behind as Pabbi needs to fix his mind. The Duke." Elsa said to a confused Kristoff. "His real name is Hadrian, and as he is no longer a Duke of anything so I suggest we call him by his name."

"Fine, where are we going?" Kristoff asked.

"I'm thinking east. We are destined to find them, and east is feeling really good to me. Well we should probably get to bed, it's getting late and we have a big day tomorrow."

Author's note- I appreciate the kindness that I have received over the very stressful past few weeks. You all have been really patient with me, and very kind about the stories that I have been putting out. I understand that the quality recently has dropped dramatically, but I am quite proud of this chapter. Thank you for continuing to read my stories and, as always, thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

(Alice's POV)

Fire coursed through my veins as I ran from the city. Raw undiluted rage took control, and red found it's way into my vision. After a few minutes of running, a group of trees caught my attention. I turned from the path, and looked upon the small bundle of trees. Each one no higher than ten feet tall, and no wider than a grown man. I looked over each one with disgust, and with a wave of my hand, each one burst into flame and disintegrated to ash.

"Tsk tsk tsk, that isn't anyway to use your gift." I heard a loud and surprisingly confident voice say from behind me, with the tone of a disappointed parent. I turned and looked upon the root of all of my agony. The woman with the dress of coal, and the signature of scorched earth near her feet.

"You," I said angrily "You killed her. You killed her!" I threw my hands forward , and she flew until she hit a tree. She looked stunned for a moment before spinning on the spot and erupting into a pillar of flame. She appeared a few feet away from me with a shocked look.

"That is not possible. You are not yet an adult. How are you this powerful?" She screamed at me.

Slightly more confident, I raised my hands in what I thought to be a threatening manner and spoke softly. "You killed her, now bring her back. If you don't, then bad things will happen to you."

The woman laughed loudly. "You dare challenge Solemne herself?" So the murderess has a name. "You may be powerful child, but you are nowhere near strong enough to challenge me."

I walked slowly over to her, looked up at her and said. "Try me." I threw my hands forward, but she was ready. She maintained her balance and only slide back a few feet. She spun around to reveal a large ball of fire resting in her hands, she threw her hands forward and the ball of fire flew into me and caught me in the chest.

I fell over momentarily dazed, but forced myself up. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I looked up the sky, and was rewarded with a bolt of lightning that fell down directly onto Solumque. Dust and dirt flew up and clouded my view.

After a few moments it cleared to reveal a smoking crater in the earth, and in the center, solumque. She stood looking disheveled but quite unharmed. She spun on the spot, and in a pillar of flame appeared next to me.

"Far too powerful, and you may use the other elements as well." She said clearly shaken, but after a second as if something moved into place, her face fell into fear. "Oh, the prophecy. No! It is time for you to die child!"

She threw herself towards me, but as if of it's own accord, the earth threw itself into a shield, and she slammed into the stone. I stepped out from behind the stone, and called down the strongest bolt of lighting that I could manage. A bolt as bright as the sun and as wide as the forest fell down onto her, and the last thing I heard before falling into unconsciousness was an angry scream.

Author's note- A short chapter, but it answered a few questions as well as provided a bit of action. School is going to be starting up in a few days, so updates may be fewer and far between, but I will follow this story to the end. Thank you for your continued kindness, and for reading my stories,


	7. Chapter 7

(Alice's POV)

The first rays of dawn were peering over the hills when I awoke. I felt drained, but strong enough to force myself into a sitting position. Gazing around the scorched remains of our battlefield, I noticed that there were no bodies.

"solumque escaped." I thought to myself "When I find her next time she won't be so lucky."

With a grunt of pain, I stood up. A dark shadow seemed to be moving towards me quickly out of the sunlight. I squinted and could barely make out the shape of a man. He walked quickly towards me, but stopped about ten feet away.

He appeared to be a farmer. Tattered dirt-covered clothes hung limply on his haggard frame. The man moved in closer, before jumping backwards with a shocked expression.

"Alice?" He said in a raspy voice.

"Yes?" I answered apprehensively.

The man looked frightened, and took a swig from something at his belt before responding.

"Dirty witch, I'll see you burn." He shouted with more fear than anger. I looked him over once, and found that my eyes lingered on his drink longer than they should. It was then that I noticed the burn of thirst in my throat.

"Can I have some of what you were drinkin just there." I asked.

"I'd sooner die than give it to you, demon." He spat.

"If those are the terms, then fine. Ask and ye shall receive." I leered at him for several seconds. This disgusting creature would kill me without a forethought. He is the same as everyone in the city and the town, ignorant and hateful. They would burn me at the stake if they could, so it's only fair that they receive the same in return.

I threw my hands into the air, and the scorched earth rose up and formed around his legs. In my mind I pictured his arms stuck to his sides, and his arms flew in to meet my mental image.

"What are you d...dd...doing?" He stammered "Stop this witchcraft at once!"

I reached to his belt and grabbed the skin that held his drink. I took a swig and felt the cool refreshment of water ease the dryness in my throat and breathe life into my limbs. "Well you lived up to your end of the bargain" I said to him courteously "It is only fair that I live up to mine. So I have decided to give you no less than you would have given me, execution by fire."

I snapped my fingers and watched as flames erupted around him, and he helplessly struggled against them. I pictured my mother dying, and I willed the flames to go higher. His screams echoed inside my head until there was silence, and a blackened corpse fell to the ground.

I didn't even know his knew mine and was willing to kill me over it, but I didn't know his. He could have had a wife, or children, all waiting at home for a father and husband that would never return.

Even whilst enduring the guilt, I liked the power that it gave me. It was relieving to longer be hunted, or persecuted for something I never asked for. I had the power to stop people from hurting me ever again.

"He was going to kill you, it was nothing more than self defense." I promised myself, but something deep within me, knew that I was lying.

Author's note- This chapter is incredibly important because it shows what power can do to the powerless. Alice has been pressured by all sides and forced to be alone, all the while being persecuted for having magic. Do not judge her too harshly quite yet, because power to the powerless is quite similar to heroin to a junkie. Eventually they have to quit, but they will leave the scars of what they did in that time. Every hero has their origin story, Alice just has a bit more blood splattered across her pages.


	8. Chapter 8

(Alice's POV)

The permanent wood and stone buildings of civilization loomed high in the distance. Huts of mud and straw dotted the horizon leading up to towering structures that could last for a thousand years. Even from several miles away I could hear the trademark noises that accompanied a busy city like this, and grew nervous about the next few hours. With the port city of Saint Petersburg waiting patiently for me, I tightened my cloak around my face and pressed forward.

As I walked a thought occurred to me. My mother died exactly one year ago. I thought back to the previous year of struggled survival. Every day I woke up wondering if it would be my last, if I could find enough food or water to survive. I managed to keep going with the image of a free life in Arendelle, a place that I could live in peace. Nobody would see my face and hate me, nobody would try to kill me if I said my name. I could be happy, and be able to mourn the life I lost, in the comfort of a home.

The gates of Saint Petersburg towered over me at last, but I knew that something was wrong. The normal sounds of city life were replaced with roars and jeers. Screams of outrage tore through the afternoon air, and above all a deep howling of despair. I quickened my pace, and came across the town square, although it resembled nothing of the sort.

All of the stalls were shoved haphazardly against buildings and out of the way to make room for a wooden structure. It sat elevated a few inches off of the ground and consisted of two poles shooting about 7 feet into the air, and a horizontal pole connecting the two. In between the two sat a small stool, with just enough room to stand on. The most notable feature was the rope tied to the horizontal beam, that fell just far enough to warp around a woman's neck.I had stumbled upon an execution.

Tears soaked the woman's face as she yelled out incoherent defenses that nobody heard, as everyone around me screamed for her death.

"Finally" I thought with grim satisfaction "They are trying to kill someone other than me."

"Quiet down, quiet down." I heard a smooth yet familiar voice say, and the face of my troubles walked up to the platform: Alexei. He walked the smooth walk of a military leader, and stepped in front of the woman blocking my view. He cleared his throat and the subtle movement of his jaw revealed burns scars lining his face, scars for which I am to blame.

"How did he get to be in such a prominent position in the military so fast?" I thought to myself.

"As you know, I have been hunting for the witch Alice for the past year. I have come close to finding her on many special occasions, however it is today that she will hang for you. You may be asking yourself 'How did he catch such a powerful witch?' and to that I answer with this" He opened his hand to reveal a shriveled white plant in his hand. "It is called wormroot, and the demons cannot endure it's holy strength. It drains their power leaving them just as human as you or I."

I didn't feel particularly drained, nor did the woman on the stand, who now was just sobbing silently into her shirt.

"I know what you all came for-" He teased walking behind the woman. "-and I will force you to wait no longer. Feast your eyes on the fruits of my labor, so that we may revel in our victory." He kicked the stool that the woman was standing on, and she fell.

A noiseless shout escaped my lips as I watched the woman struggle in mid-air. She fought against the bindings, each attempt becoming more feeble until she stopped moving altogether. A trickle of blood slid from the corner of her mouth and fell to the ground.

I stood horrified, as the rest of the crowd cheered. The crowd screamed and shouted victoriously, some even going so far as to throw rotten fruit at her body, and it only became quiet when a little girl ran onto the platform.

She was young, no older than six, and she ran directly to the woman. She started screaming in grief, and clutched to the woman's clothes.

Alexei picked up the little girl and asked her. "Why are you sad little girl. We have killed the witch."

The girl whispered something into his ear, and his mouth split into an evil smile. He let the girl fall to the ground before grabbing her arm and picking her up to show the crowd.

"It seems that we have a problem. This girl here claims to be the daughter of Alice. As we all know, magic is passed from mother to daughter. This bastard girl is now a witch like her mommy, and you know what we do with witches." He said bursting with happiness.

He produced a rope and tied it firmly around the post and then to the girls neck. I noticed what was happening and tried to force my way to the front of the crowd to stop him. I pushed and shoved past the cheering people, until an elbow caught me and I fell to the I was trying to force my way to my feet, I heard a bloodcurdling scream, and then crowd fell hushed, until someone started to clap and everyone else joined in.

I stood up enough to catch the smug look of Alexei as he walked off stage, and the small form of the little girl hanging beside her mother. The image made me sick, and I started screaming something. I started screaming something at the top of my lungs.

The crowd went silent once more, and Alexei moved back up the platform and yelled out "Is it true?"

I realized that I had been shouting "I am Alice." and responded with a short "Yes" he crowd started screaming again and pushed me until I was on the platform with Alexei. I looked him over with disgust, and jerked my hand backwards. I looked down and was satisfied to see a spike of ice clutched in my hand.

He looked afraid for a moment, before throwing the plant he named wormroot at me. It bounced off of my shoulder and landed on the ground with a soundless thud. I looked back at him, and saw that he looked terrified. I winded up my arm to throw the spike, but I felt a snap on my hand and I fell backwards into darkness.

Author's note- This was a particularly gruesome story based on a dream that I had last night. The dream centered around America following religious fads rather than pop-culture fads. One of the fads was suicide in favor of a god. In the dream I watched a woman kill herself, and her daughter do the same all for some god that they would forget about when the new fad came around. I woke up feeling sick and disgusted and thought about how I could use what had happened in the dream to invoke the same feelings I felt into the character. I eventually settled on the creation of Alexei as the antagonist for this portion of the story, and would use this for the inciting incident for Alice's revenge. Thank you for reading my story.


	9. The Real Chapter 9

Author's note- The following chapter is a replacement to the chapter nine I released a few days ago. The original abandoned the tone and attempted to create a world that didn't fit inside of the universe I have created. It made light of what should have been a serious situation, and wasn't what I wanted it to be.

(Alice's POV)

Over the next few hours I dozed in and out of consciousness. Asleep or awake it made no difference, I was constantly in pain.

Whilst awake the searing pain in the back of my head stole all senses from me. There was no light or sound, only the agony that tore through my skull. Simply living was torture, although I knew that the moment I closed my eyes, I would experience hell.

Whenever it became too much I slipped away into the collected suffering of my nightmares. For the past year, the scene has been the same. I had been standing in place, watching my home burn down with my mother inside it. I always screamed to her and tried to reach out, but I was rooted in place. I could do nothing but watch the flames rise higher, and try to block out the screams.

Although a new face has found it's way into my own little hell. The little girl would run towards my burning home, and she would yell to me.

"She's dying, go save her!"

"I can't" I would yell back "I can't move."

"You coward! You can save her! Do it!" She screamed.

"I can't." I pleaded desperately trying to make her understand.

"Fine, save me." She would state and the world would lurch.

I was running through the crowd, desperately trying to save her. I pushed and shoved and I finally made it up to the platform. Although I was too late. The rest of the world dissolved until there was only the little girl, spinning slowly as the rope adjusted itself. Her dead cold eyes would stare through me, and demand why I didn't save her.

"I'm sorry." I screamed "I did everything I could."

Then I would wake up and the pain in my head would remind me of reality, and start the vicious cycle anew.

Time stopped ticking. The world stopped existing. All that was real was inside of my head, and tearing it apart.

Eventually I opened my eyes, and the pain in my head was bearable enough. I stared through foggy eyes at a blurry world, and realized that I was crying. I hadn't cried in over a year, but my facades were failing and so was my strenght. I was content with my life to some degree, I never really thought about it.

The wanderer-thief method kept me fed, and I only did anything out of necessity. I had grown so used to working and walking to keep myself from thinking, that it had become my life. My entire existence had been built around pretending like the world did not exist. Now here I was, trapped in a world I can't see, unable to run.I had to face the fact that my mother was finally dead.

"Oh god," I sobbed through tears "I'll do anything please bring her back." I expected no reply, and was shocked when a distinctly male voice said from across the room.

"That's not going to work. Trust me I've tried it. Now who is the she that you want back? Is it the little witch we slaughtered victoriously in the name of righteousness." The voice asked sarcastically. "Or is it someone else?"

I pawed at my eyes until the rough outline of a prison cell came into view. Slabs of stone made up the floor and the ceiling. Rougher cut rocks formed a wall, and was uniform except for a small flap in the wall to my right. The only light cast was from a candle peering through the flap, lending us a dim light with which to see.

As my eyes adjusted even further, the outline of a boy no older than twenty filled the corner of the room. The boy laid comfortably against the wall, and everything about him screamed defiance. The way he looked straight at me, the way his lip turned up at the side, the way that he sat against the wall as if he did this everyday, screamed defiance. It occurred to me that this may be the boy I had been warned about, that he was the wrong crowd.

"My mother." I choked out "She died a year ago."

"I'm sorry." He replied seemingly sincere. He shifted his posture to be less arrogant and leaned towards me. "But an entire year, that's a little long to warrant this kind of a response."

"I've kept busy."

"Ha, I bet you have. Alice the she-devil tearing her way from town-to-town

in her endless quest for blood. Were you roaming from town-to-town on an endless quest for blood?"

"No, but everywhere I went people tried to kill me. All I had to do was show my face and they would tie my noose in front of me. It's hard to mourn when every moment of every day is spent running and fighting."

"There is some truth to that." He replied and we were both silent. I watched him pick something up off of the floor and toss it from hand to hand.

After a few minutes I broke the silence. "So what are ya in for?"

"Oh nothing as grand as roaming the countryside killing everyone I meet spectacularly. Now I merely voiced my displeasure over killing the little girl. They picked me up and threw me in here with you. If I had known you'd be screaming the entire time I would've kept my mouth shut."

"I've been screaming?" I asked.

"You haven't stopped." He replied. "I once had a cousin that talked in her sleep, but she would only ever whisper things. You scream. Sometimes with words, sometimes just in pain."

"What have I said?" I asked.

"Things like 'I'm so sorry' and 'I can't help you'. You must have been having one hell of a nightmare."

"You could say that." I said but didn't say anything further.

After a minute he said. "If half of the stories are true, then you are incredibly powerful. Why didn't you summon down a lightning bolt or something to save that little girl?" It sounded like he was trying desperately to keep from accusing me, he failed.

"Do you think that I haven't been asking myself the same question? My nightmares have been about me not saving the little girl. I've had to watch her die over and over, and relive those moments when I did nothing. You think that when you are in a situation and panic sets in. that you'll know exactly what to do, you don't. When that little girl was being hung I forgot that I had powers, I completely forgot. All that I could do was run to her as fast as I could, and try to save her. I couldn't do it. I let her die, and her blood is on my hands."

"No it isn't!" He said firmly. "Her blood is on the coward Alexei's hands. You know what he did after you got arrested? He ran away. He packed up and ran away, supposedly to inform the king of his success. Although we all know that he ran because he learned that his secret weapon didn't work."

"That still doesn't change the fact that I didn't do anything."

"Like you said, all that mattered was saving her, and you tried. You did everything you could think of at the time, and dwelling on it isn't going to help anything. She is dead, you are not. It is your job to avenge her."

Despite the grimness of his words, I did feel a bit better. "What's your name by the way?"

"It's Jack."

"Nice name." I commented.

"Not really when your father is named Jack, and so was his father, and his father before him."

"That must make things confusing."

"Not really, my dad died when I was young. The plague got him, but the stubborn old fool killed himself off first. Said he wanted to die on his own terms, and that he did."

"Alright."I said because i couldn't really think of anything else to say.

"What about you?" he asked. "Any parent stories aside from your mother?"

"I never met my dad, and my mother really didn't like to talk about him."

"Is he to blame for the whole eye situation?" He said gesturing up at me.

"Oh, I forgot about my eyes. It's funny I used to hate them more than anything on this world, but now they seem so minor… Yes, yes my father did give me these eyes."

"Alright princess, as much as I would love to stay in here and chat with you, I really am getting bored of this place. I would really like to get back at Alexei, and we can't do much from in here. So if you don't mind, could you break us out of here?"

I entertained the idea of striking back at Alexei in my mind, and let it fill my being. I looked at Jack and smiled slyly "With pleasure."


	10. Chapter 10

Alice's POV

With a cocky smile I turned to face the wall, and focused on my target. I considered gently twisting the rocks in their holdings until they broke free from their binding and the wall silently crumbled, but I knew that Jack expected more from the Witch Of The East. Theatrically I shoved my arms outward and turned to look at the ceiling. I murmured a few words for good effect and then yanked my arms towards me.

The wall disintegrated as an earsplitting crash echoed around the room. I resisted the urge to shove my fingers into my ears and looked as calmly as I could manage at the destruction I had wrought. Bits of stone fell to the ground like hail, and dust rose up to fill the room. I took a deep breath, puffed out my chest, and flashed a quick smile at Jack before walking through the wreckage.

I made it several feet before a terrified voice shouted "Halt!" I turned to look at a half-dressed guard brandishing a small knife at me. He kept it firmly directed at me, although it shook constantly as if he were cold. Another voice sleepily shouted "you're under arrest!"

I glanced quickly around the room, and saw several guards in various states of undress, some of them were wielding knives, swords, and one was caught in their bed trying desperately to get out. The bodies of those unfortunate enough to have a bed pressed against the wall of my cell were scattered around my feet, stone embedded in their heads.

Jack found his way through the rubble to stand at my side. "Just our luck. Bust through the wall into the one part of this building filled with people who want to kill us. I vote we kill them all."

"Hold on." I said to the first guard. I turned to face Jack. "I can't just go around killing everyone I meet. Those people on the way here were killed out of necessity, mostly."

Jack turned to meet my gaze "Well how's this for necessity? They have weapons, we have broken rocks at our feet. I know who my money's on."

"Stop talking! You two are under arrest!"

"Shut up!" I snapped at the guard. I turned back to jack. "Well I have magical powers, so they don't pose a threat in the first place."

"You still bleed don't you, and being in this prison in the first place is evidence that you are not invincible."

"I wasn't focused and they got me from behind. I know that these guards are here, and I can stop them without killing them."

"This is the last time I am going to say this. You are under arrest!"

"Shut up!" Jack and I said..

"Well what if they try to kill you? Are you going to spare them then?"

"If it is a situation where I have to kill them to stay alive, then I will. Now is not that time. I can handle them with no problem."

A blinding light snapped across my vision and I fell to the floor. Pain shot through me from the back of my head. Unconsciousness called to me, but I took a shaky breath and looked up. Two guards were moving in on Jack with knives raised. He stepped backwards into our old cell with a look of absolute terror cast upon his face. He shouted something that I later to be realized to be "no please" and then he was gone from sight. I screamed at my muscles to respond and let me help him, but I was trapped on the floor. The pain in my head receded, and I heard the telltale sound of metal hitting bone. The air escaped my lungs, and I felt sick. The rage I had grown so accustomed to over the years settled in my stomach and I forced myself to my feet. I turned to each guard in turn and marked their shocked expressions. "You didn't have to kill him!" I shouted. "He hasn't done anything and you've killed him! What did he do to you?"

From inside the cell I heard a familiar voice say "By my estimate two counts of murder." Jack stepped out of our ruined cell with a bloody knife at his side, and turned to me. "We need to work on your attention skills. That's twice now that you've been hit from behind and been absolutely useless in combat."

I stood dumfounded. "You killed them?"

"It was out of necessity I swear." He said with a grin.

"No, I mean how did you kill them?"

"With a knife. Apparently we really need to work on your attention skills."

"Ha ha." I laughed sarcastically, the shock wearing off "What did you do to get the knife and kill them."

"I asked nicely and when that didn't work, I broke his hand like this." He starting miming an elaborate karate maneuver with two imaginary enemies.

"Impressive, well you may get a chance to show me for real." I turned to one of the frightened guards "You're not going to let us walk out of here are you?" He responded with a terse shake of his head. "Thought not."

I sat down and closed my eyes. I pictured everyone in the room except Jack, and then imagined the air in their throats hardening. I held the image until I heard the thud of a body hitting the ground and then I opened my eyes. Jack looked down at me in irritation.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"What?" I asked

"You just said that you don't kill." I looked around the room and noticed that everyone looked quite dead.

"They're not dead they're asleep. Well less asleep, more unconscious. C',mon we still have a long way to go before we are out of the city."

Author's note- It's been a long while but I'm glad to be back to Alice and the rest of the gang's stories. Thank you for reading I hope to update more often.


	11. Chapter 11

Alice's POV

Cool moonlight fell softly upon my face as Jack and I emerged from the prison. The city roared with citizens fleeing from the stone walls of our captivity, and soldiers attempting to return us to it. Despite the overwhelming odds we faced, Jack and I, bloody and covered with dust, could not have been happier. Several soldiers bearing the mark of the emperor, a dragon atop a sword, upon their tunics, finally broke through the crowd to surround us. They circled threateningly with polished weapons drawn, and demanded our immediate surrender.

"These are the Emperor's royal guard!" Jack declared. "They are handpicked from the best of the best to serve directly under the Emperor himself. You can't find a better soldier."

"Well if you're scared then you can run back into the cell, and I'll call you out when the dirty work is done." I mocked sarcastically.

Jack laughed quickly and grinned cockily, "So how do you want to divide these guys up?"

I scratched my chin to feign deep thought. "I'll take the left and you take the right." I proposed.

"That's not fair you've got more to deal with." Jack said pointing out the uneven number. "Why do you get to have all of the fun?"

"Surrender or face the Emperor's wrath!" The closest guard yelled.

"One would think that he'd be able to deliver his wrath himself" Jack whispered.

I laughed and proposed an offer. "Fine, I'll take the left, and you can have the right, plus one. " I extended my hand and he gladly shook it.

"Deal."

I turned to face the left group of soldiers and marveled at their uniformity. Each warrior held their weapons towards me at the exact same height, not one wavering. Each polished blade glinted in the moonlight, and appeared as if they thirsted to taste my blood. The men held impassive masks of routine, and stared me down with the intensity that can only be born from years in the battlefield. Jack was right, these men were professionals.

I turned my head to my right just in time to see a knife bury itself in the chest of the rightmost guard, and Jack wrestling the weapon away from his nearest foe. Turning back to see my enemies, I barely had time to react as a sword cut right through where my head had been a moment earlier. I threw my hand out in self-defense and the guard to my right bursted into flames. He grabbed his helmet and shouted a blood curdling scream that tore through the night.

I focused on the bone in between his head and his chest, and pictured it snapping violently. The guard's agony ended swiftly and his body fell to the floor. Despite my victory my two remaining guards moved towards me, unfazed by their companion's death. I clenched my fist around an imaginary knife, and was pleased to see a dagger made of ice clenched firmly in my fist. The guards were within swinging distance and I was seconds from death, when I hardened the air around them. The attempted to move their arms or their legs but were unable to break the cage I had created for them. I imagined a small hole in their air-prison at equal heights to their chests, and focused on keeping it in existence. Without breaking concentration I stepped forward and stabbed the closest guard in the heart, and took a step to the right and did the same once more. I released the air and let them fall to the ground, dead.

I turned to see how Jack was doing, and was greeted by a round of applause. Jack sat calmly with his legs crossed upon one of the guards bodies, with the others scattered around in various states of limblessness.

"Bravo, I say Bravo. What a splendid little show." He said in a false european accent.

"Why thank you my good sir." I said with a curtsy. My heart was still beating furiously and the adrenaline from the battle was still in my system, but Jack's sense of humor helped to calm me down. "Where did you learn to fight like that, no simple farm boy can take on the emperor's elite guard like that and survive."

"As much as I would love to sit and talk about how awesome I am, we need to get out of this city. These guys weren't the first, and trust me I will tell you everything once we are safely outside of the city."

"Good idea." I agreed. For the first time since the fight I looked up and noticed that the streets were deserted. Not a single straggler stayed to watch the fight, and no guards were here to prevent us from leaving.

"Well how are we going to get anywhere with ALL THIS TRAFFIC!" jack shouted into the silence. I laughed quietly, and we ran as quickly as we could to the gates of the city. There was no sound except for our bare feet hitting the stones as we sprinted. Street after street we ran until we broke through into a large open area, and I recognized the gallows standing ominously in the center.

Jack and I slowed enough to look at the woman and her daughter still hanging after god knows how long. Their pale skin was scratched and torn where angry men and women threw sharpened stones at their corpses.

"We are going to do something about this. This has to stop." I declared in panted breaths.

"Yeah." was all jack said before we started running again. Buildings enveloped us once more and after a minute of running the gate to the city became within sight.

We stopped and leaned against a wall to collect our breath. Jack gestured to his dusty blood-soaked clothes and said "Do you think they'll know it's us?"

I glanced down at my equally bloodstained tunic and pants and nodded. "Probably. It's worth a shot no matter what."

Jack and I turned heads down and slowly walked to the gate. We reached the cool metal and I leaned into the booth to my left and asked him if he could open the door. I looked up and saw the frightened man, white as a sheet, sinking into the corner of the booth shaking his head no.

I turned to Jack and said "Though not." before thrusting my arms towards the metal gate, and watching it tear from it's hinges and fly into the night. Jack leaned behind me to say to the frightened man "Thank you for your time." and we started running one more. Directly outside of the city a stable came into view. "horses." I gasped.

We reached the stable and saw a old stable hand brushing the dirt off of a horses hoof. A whistled tune hung in the air, and calmed the night. I turned to Jack and said "I don't feel right stealing from this guy. He hasn't done anything to us."

"Who said we'd be stealing?" Jack responded. He reached into his pants and pulled out a small leather pouch. He reached in and pulled out a few rubles, and balanced them in his palm. "'I'll explain later, for now let's buy a horse."

We walked as calmly as we could up to the content stable hand, and I asked as politely as I could "How much for this one?"

The stable hand looked up once, and if he was surprised he didn't show it. He simply chuckled and said "You two look like hell, but it ain't my place to judge. For a couple a' young lovers like yerselves, I can part with old Icestorm here." He said affectionately patting the white horse. "Served me well o'er the years, but the two of ya look like you could user 'er more than me. You can her 'er for ten rubles."

Jack counted out the coins and handed them to the old man. He took the money and walked over to one of the stalls to get everything we would need.

"Young lovers eh?" Jack whispered.

"Don't start with that. It's a decent enough cover to let us buy a horse."

"Why don't we sell this cover a little more with a kiss?"

"In your dreams lover boy." I laughed, and the the stable hand emerged with a saddle and a rein. He swung the saddle over the horse's back and fastened his reins with masterful precision. Once he was done he handed the reins to me and said. "You two have a nice night."

We thanked him, and swung over our newly purchased horse. I positioned myself in the front part of the saddle steering the horse, and Jack found his way behind me with his arms around my waist.

"Dont you get handsy back there or I'll be riding this horse and you will be walking alongside it." Jack chuckled, and with a snap of the reigns we were off. I guided the horse onto a main road, and sprinted along that until the city was no longer visible, and even the smoke vanished into the moonlight. Once absolutely certain that we had made it away safely, I turned to interrogating Jack.

"So where does a farm boy learn to kill soldiers like that?"

"It's a long story." He evaded.

I made a big show of looking all around me "and we have a long walk, talk."

"When I was six my father, Jack, was accused of trying to practice magic. Instead of holding trial, the appointed witch hunter at the time set fire to our entire house. My mother, father ,and two sisters died in the blaze." Jack was silent for a few moments before continuing. "I woke up the next morning covered in ash with burns all over my body, but somehow alive. The next two weeks I tried everything to fix that. I threw myself into rivers, and off of large rocks but nothing worked. In a final effort, I found waterfall and tried to drown myself in the lake below. I remember throwing myself in, but nothing past that. I woke up a few weeks later in the sanctuary for the silent hand, the most reclusive gang of assassins in the world, or so they told me all while growing up. They raised me and honed me as a perfect weapon. I had made my first kill at 8 and had my first contract at 12."

"Are you still with them?" I asked.

He looked blankly into the darkness before responding. "No."

"Well you can't be much more than 17,so what happened?"

"I crossed a line" He said sadly, all traces of his previous self gone. "I did something unspeakable, and I had to leave. They gave me the choice to do it or die, and I did it"

Like the horrible person that I am, pressed further "What did they make you do?"

"A duke wasn't cooperating with us. We cleared the way to help him rise to power, and he refused payment. The Silent Hand wanted to make an example of him, and the tasked me with my hardest assignment. The wanted me to kill the Duke's kid, and I did. I killed a baby." A tear fell down his cheek and I felt the urge to reach over and wipe it away. "After I did it, I couldn't face myself. I left the Silent Hand and haven't gone back."

We sat in silence for several more minutes and I couldn't think of anything to say. I wanted desperately to say something to make him smile, but I couldn't find the words.

"It's getting late, we should probably find somewhere to sleep the rest of the night off." Jack finally said. I slowed the horse to a stop, and we threw ourselves off of the horses back. Jack tied the horse to a tree, and I gathered sticks for a fire. With a snap of my fingers the bundle ignited, and Jack and I settled to sleep.

Author's note- I had to rush a bit to finish the final few paragraphs of this story, as my writing program kept crashing. Thank you for your continued support.


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